THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NY & NJ

Press Release Article

Runners will take their mark, get set and go through the Lincoln Tunnel at 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 22, in the 21st Annual Lincoln Tunnel Challenge to benefit Special Olympics New Jersey.

The Lincoln Tunnel Challenge is a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) Fun Run/Walk through the Lincoln Tunnel, hosted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The activities will begin in New Jersey, where runners will proceed through the tunnel’s South Tube into Manhattan and return through the same tube to the finish line in Weehawken, N.J.

Last year, approximately 1,200 runners participated in the event, which raised more than $33,000 for Special Olympics New Jersey.

Participants will assemble beginning at 6:30 a.m. in the NJ Transit bus parking lot on Boulevard East between 19th Street and Baldwin Avenue in Weehawken, across from the Lincoln Tunnel Administration Building. Free shuttle service to and from the race will be provided at 41st Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues in Manhattan beginning at 7 a.m.

The South Tube of the Lincoln Tunnel will be closed to traffic during the race. No traffic delays are anticipated.

The tunnel and the roadway are cleaned the night before the run, and fresh air is pumped into the tunnel during the race.

The registration fee is $25. All participants will receive a Lincoln Tunnel Challenge T-shirt, bottled water, and refreshments, and are eligible for gifts and prizes.

Entry forms are available in advance at the Youth Services Office in the Port Authority Bus Terminal from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on the Special Olympics New Jersey Web site, www.sonj.org. Participants are asked to bring their entry form with them on the day of the event.

For more information, competitors can check the Special Olympics New Jersey Web site or call 609-896-8000.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid-transit system; the Port Authority-Downtown Manhattan Heliport; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.

The Port Authority is financially self-supporting and receives no tax revenue from either state.